WEBVTT - Dan Ives Talks Musk/Trump Feud

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.

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<v Speaker 2>Dan ives of Webbush writing, this view does not change

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<v Speaker 2>our bullish view of Tesla and the autonomous view, but

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<v Speaker 2>clearly does put a fly on the ointment of the

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<v Speaker 2>Trump regulatory framework going forward. Dan joins us. Now, Dan,

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<v Speaker 2>great to see you, great to be here, very curious

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<v Speaker 2>to hear what you have to say about this. The

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<v Speaker 2>fact that you do not change your bullish outlook on Tesla,

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<v Speaker 2>even though it seems like there is a massive key

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<v Speaker 2>Man risk. Please explain how you dismiss that.

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<v Speaker 3>Look, I mean, this is a its friend It's like

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<v Speaker 3>a Frenemi is in junior high school. That's essentially going

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<v Speaker 3>on between Trump and much.

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<v Speaker 2>We're billionaires and leaders of massive empires.

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<v Speaker 3>And look, the reality is that our view is that

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<v Speaker 3>this is something where the friendship it doesn't end. In

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<v Speaker 3>other words, I still believe that this will be resolved

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<v Speaker 3>potentially by the end of the day, by the weekend.

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<v Speaker 3>And it's not our view that this changes the regulatory landscape.

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<v Speaker 3>Four musk. When it comes to autonomous and the broader vision, how.

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<v Speaker 2>Do we even talk about the fundamental backdrop though? When

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<v Speaker 2>you have a war of words, whipsawing this company by

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<v Speaker 2>more than one hundred and fifty billion dollars of market capitalization.

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<v Speaker 2>Does that introduce a risk that a lot of institutions

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<v Speaker 2>just won't take.

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<v Speaker 3>Look, but we always start and we've turn on the

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<v Speaker 3>ship for a decade. It comes down like with Tesla,

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<v Speaker 3>that's the reality. I mean, you're going to have the volatility.

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<v Speaker 3>It's part of what we've seen with Musk. But in

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<v Speaker 3>our view is that you have to see through the noise,

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<v Speaker 3>understand the autonomous vision. It's our view ultimately Way Moos

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<v Speaker 3>at the kids table when it comes to autonomous and

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<v Speaker 3>the AI future. And look, this is it's Rod Serling.

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<v Speaker 3>It's an episode out of the Twilight Zone yesterday. I mean,

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<v Speaker 3>in my opinion, in all my years covering Tesla, it

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<v Speaker 3>might win the prize top three, maybe top one for

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<v Speaker 3>one of the strangers days that I've ever seen.

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<v Speaker 4>So last year Elon Musk said take away the subsidies.

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<v Speaker 4>It only helped Tesla. Why does he or based on

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<v Speaker 4>reporting out of the speak of Johnson, out of President Trump,

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<v Speaker 4>why has there been this reversal from him regarding the

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<v Speaker 4>EV subsidies.

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<v Speaker 3>He's no longer in the White House. I mean, and

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<v Speaker 3>you've talked about it. It comes down to like he's

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<v Speaker 3>now trying to distance himself for a few reasons. One

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<v Speaker 3>that would hurt Tesla not as much as the others

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<v Speaker 3>in terms of the Detroit Big Three. But then you

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<v Speaker 3>also look at what's happening here. I believe there's some

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<v Speaker 3>poker going on as well, that he's trying to distance

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<v Speaker 3>himself from Trump because of China, because he also needs

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<v Speaker 3>to play nice in the sandbox in Beijing with everything

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<v Speaker 3>that we see as given the China market raw material

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<v Speaker 3>is how important that is from a demand perspective, He's

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<v Speaker 3>trying to be sure, I think balances and for a musk,

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<v Speaker 3>even though some of it could come out sort of

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<v Speaker 3>spur of the moment, I do believe potential there's a

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<v Speaker 3>longer game here.

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<v Speaker 4>Is he rebranding for a midterm election where most people

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<v Speaker 4>think the Republicans are going to get absolute salacking.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, look in the reality is is that That's why

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<v Speaker 3>in d C. I mean, you know, if you're a

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<v Speaker 3>hater or whatever, a musk he is going to be

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<v Speaker 3>a huge player. And that's why for all parties. That's

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<v Speaker 3>why White House, you know, it seems trying to put

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<v Speaker 3>together this phone call, because no one's a winner, Trump

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<v Speaker 3>or Musk in this Frontemi's battle. I think it's two

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<v Speaker 3>kids in the sandbox. I do think the play date

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<v Speaker 3>will be back on at one point. It's just going

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<v Speaker 3>through definitely sim little tension here.

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<v Speaker 2>Wait, you're actually suggesting something that's pretty important, that there

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<v Speaker 2>is an aspect of deliberateness to this by Elon Musk

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<v Speaker 2>to revive the brand around Tesla, to try to paint

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<v Speaker 2>it with a less Maga type of brush after a

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<v Speaker 2>lot of blowback and a lot of fall off in sales,

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<v Speaker 2>particularly outside of the United States. Do you really think

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<v Speaker 2>that actually this is a vocal way of his distancing

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<v Speaker 2>himself and that he can get back in good with

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<v Speaker 2>President Trump. But this is an effort to revive a

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<v Speaker 2>brand that suffered a black eye, just like Elon Musk.

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<v Speaker 3>Look, I think there's some of that potentially at play.

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<v Speaker 3>But you don't burn the house down just so you

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<v Speaker 3>can meet the firefighters. I mean, the point is you

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<v Speaker 3>need to navigate the situation very carefully. You need Trump

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<v Speaker 3>as a friend, not a foe. And that's why Tessa

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<v Speaker 3>down so much, is because if you're on the regulatory

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<v Speaker 3>it's going to be a green light when it comes

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<v Speaker 3>to autonomous and especially Tesla, and I view is a

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<v Speaker 3>huge advantage there. You can say way mo little as well.

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<v Speaker 3>You don't need Trump now as an enemy, you need

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<v Speaker 3>them as a friend. Hopefully by the end of the

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<v Speaker 3>day the candle White dinners back on. I just do

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<v Speaker 3>not believe that these friends become enemies. It's a again,

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<v Speaker 3>it's a Frenemi's junior high school situation between two as

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<v Speaker 3>we know, a very stubborn individual.

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<v Speaker 2>Let's say in episode six they still haven't gotten back together,

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<v Speaker 2>do you change your view and become more bearish on Tesla.

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<v Speaker 3>Look, if this continues to continue to play out longer

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<v Speaker 3>and longer term, obviously that would be a huge negative.

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<v Speaker 3>But my view, just say junior high school, they will

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<v Speaker 3>get back together as friends, but it's going to take

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<v Speaker 3>some intermediaries. That's why the White House, there's a lot

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<v Speaker 3>in DC on the Republican Party and everywhere.

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<v Speaker 4>Well, the distance is already there, and there's something that

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<v Speaker 4>happened yesterday that potentially the White House are really upset

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<v Speaker 4>with and maybe are going to create a lot of

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<v Speaker 4>tension for a long term, even if they start playing

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<v Speaker 4>a little bit nicer. Is this an opportunity potentially for

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<v Speaker 4>China to use BYD. We can see BYD cars made

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<v Speaker 4>in the United States.

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<v Speaker 3>Look, I think this is just a broader game of

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<v Speaker 3>poker going on, and Musk and Trump are key players

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<v Speaker 3>at that poker bakra on table, whatever you want to

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<v Speaker 3>think about it. China definitely is watching this carefully because

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<v Speaker 3>also remember Musk is i'd say, along with Cook, I

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<v Speaker 3>mean to know the China market better. They also play

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<v Speaker 3>nice in Beijing as well, so there is some bounds

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<v Speaker 3>going on here. But look, must we want him to

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<v Speaker 3>distance himself from Trump still be a friend. It's been

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<v Speaker 3>a very strange few weeks, a few months, and obviously

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<v Speaker 3>twenty four hours. But I do believe by the end

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<v Speaker 3>of the day and going into the weekend, I don't

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<v Speaker 3>expect this to get work. I do believe this will

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<v Speaker 3>start to be cool heads prevail and that's why Tesla

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<v Speaker 3>stock will be up there. I think Tessa is way

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<v Speaker 3>over sold. Like, unless you think draconian, this goes into

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<v Speaker 3>like a dark period to me, I think we view

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<v Speaker 3>this as an opportunity.

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<v Speaker 1>So Dan, let's get back to the American consumer for

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<v Speaker 1>a second. So what I hear you saying is you're

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<v Speaker 1>assuming that Elon is not going to form a third

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<v Speaker 1>political party, which I think we can all say we're

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<v Speaker 1>relieved about. Has what's happened caused a measure of irreversible damage?

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<v Speaker 1>And if not, how long is this going to take

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<v Speaker 1>for the American consumer to disentangle hammer herself from the

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<v Speaker 1>politics of.

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<v Speaker 3>All and first, I'm disappointed you. I feel we are

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<v Speaker 3>matched today. But I'm not going to storial splendor.

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<v Speaker 2>It's it's but it's file.

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<v Speaker 3>Look, I don't I don't view that. I think it's

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<v Speaker 3>something there is brand damage and there was there is

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<v Speaker 3>things that must needs to turn around. In terms of us,

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<v Speaker 3>we said five seven potentially ten percent damage the American consumer.

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<v Speaker 2>Look, I think there's.

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<v Speaker 3>Confusion when it comes to us because obviously alienated you

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<v Speaker 3>know many in Democratic Party. Now you actually alienating the republic.

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<v Speaker 3>So now it's like, if you want to alienate everyone,

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<v Speaker 3>you've actually done a great job. Okay, So now it's

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<v Speaker 3>point like, okay, how do we sort of build this back?

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<v Speaker 3>Does the board get involved? Because again it goes back

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<v Speaker 3>to the board needs. I think in a situation like this,

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<v Speaker 3>they do need to play a hand in some way

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<v Speaker 3>to make sure that this doesn't go off the rails.

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<v Speaker 2>If it's a junior high school situation, then there needs

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<v Speaker 2>to be an adult in the room.

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<v Speaker 4>You need a room.

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<v Speaker 3>You need a doll in the room with the prom.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, come on, get home, it's your curfew. Dan Ives

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<v Speaker 2>of Woodbush, thank you so much with your sartorial splendor.

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<v Speaker 2>Julian I love that phrase.